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A little background first - I am an active 74 year old who used to play piano up to the age of 18 taking exams in Classical and then American Syncopation before joining the RAF when I lost touch with the piano (and regretted it since). I still have my piano music in the loft though.

For some years I have been playing acoustic guitar (classical and jazz) – self taught, but at least I am familiar with the right hand piano music notation!

I now have a desire to get back to the piano and have been looking at many of the options for digital pianos.

Having just avoided buying a Classenti piano (having read a number of posting about this piano on this Forum) I have convinced myself that I should go for a Yamaha, in particularly the YDP range.

I have looked at a number of videos on YouTube and they all seem very good (as are reviewers comments around the internet).

My question to members is; can anyone give me advice as to which of the YPD range I should go for. In particular I looked at the 141/161/181/240 (which I presume are the order they were released by Yamaha)

The current prices on the Internet are 141 (£630) 162 (£830) 181 (£1000) 240 (1300) – quite a range for apparently very similar machines.

I have looked at the specifications but it’s hard to determine whether, for example, it is worth paying £300 simply for a digital display on the 240 when it seems the 181 has Polyphony range of 128, while the 240 is only 64.

My inclination is to go for the YPD-181, but would appreciate advice as to which I should purchase.

Don wrote:My question to members is; can anyone give me advice as to which of the YPD range I should go for. In particular I looked at the 141/161/181/240 (which I presume are the order they were released by Yamaha)

The current prices on the Internet are 141 (£630) 162 (£830) 181 (£1000) 240 (1300) – quite a range for apparently very similar machines.

The model numbers represent levels of techinicality; the higher the number, the more advanced the sound engine, keyboard action, additional sounds/features will be. You need to look at the specifications and decide what you want out of your keyboard. If touch and sound are important, then perhaps you should look at the mid-range keyboad, e.g. YDP181. I haven't played these instruments so I can't offer personal experience, however, with Yamaha, and most of the other brands, the higher model number indicates a higher level of instrument in general. You need to balance that, however, with cost. I would rarely suggest going to the top of the range in a digital piano but that's just me.